There is disclosed an image processing apparatus for solving a problem that much time is required for judging specific information when the specific information such as a digital watermark is judged and printing is controlled, the apparatus comprising: indication means for indicating a mode from a first printing mode and a second printing mode higher in speed than the first printing mode; judgment means for judging whether or not specific information exists in an original; and printing means for, when the indication means indicates the second printing mode, printing an image in accordance with the original without performing the judgment by the judgment means.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. An image processing apparatus comprising: indication means for indicating a mode from a first printing mode and a second printing mode higher in speed than the first printing mode; judgment means for judging whether or not specific information exists in an original; and printing means for, when said indication means indicates the second printing mode, printing an image in accordance with the original without performing the judgment by said judgment means, wherein, when the first printing mode is indicated as a judgment result by said judgment means, said printing means normally prints the image in accordance with the original in a case in which the specific information does not exist, and performs at least one of abnormally printing the image in accordance with the original, generating a warning in a monitor, and performing no printing in a case in which the specific information exists.
2. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first printing mode is a high image quality printing mode, and the second printing mode is a high speed printing mode.
3. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the specific information is a digital watermark.
4. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the judgment processing is performed by a software processing in which a program is used.
5. An apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein the program is included in a printer driver.
6. An apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the digital watermark includes an invisible digital watermark or a visible digital watermark.
7. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the printing is performed in an ink jet mode.
8. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the indication is determined by manual indication by an operator.
9. An apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the first printing mode is higher in image quality, but slower in processing speed that the second printing mode.
10. An image processing method comprising steps of: indicating a mode from a first printing mode and a second printing mode higher in speed than the first printing mode; and when the second printing mode is indicated, printing an image in accordance with an original without judging whether or not specific information exists in the original, wherein, when the first printing mode is indicated as a judgment result, said printing step includes normally printing the image in accordance with the original in a case in which the specific information does not exist, and performs at least one of abnormally printing the image in accordance with the original, generating a warning in a monitor, and performing no printing in a case in which the specific information exists.
11. A storage medium which stores a program for executing steps of: indicating a mode from a first printing mode and a second printing mode higher in speed than the first printing mode; judging whether or not specific information exists in an original; and when said indication step indicates the second printing mode, printing an image in accordance with the original without judging whether or not the specific information exists in the original, wherein, when the first printing mode is indicated as a judgment result, said printing step includes normally printing the image in accordance with the original in a case in which the specific information does not exist, and performs at least one of abnormally printing the image in accordance with the original, generating a warning in a monitor, and performing no printing in a case in which the specific information exists.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
January 29, 2001
April 5, 2005
Browse 5M+ US patents with plain-English claim translations and AI-generated analysis.